QUAIL, WOODPEZOID, AND PANGOLIN

The woodpecker gave the quail some advice:

Hey, honey! Hey, honey!

- Yes, sir, what can I do for you?

Be careful! Stay among the tall grass, watch out for buffaloes and cows trampling on you! Be careful when you go foraging for food!

- Yes, you too! When you're drilling into the tree trunk, be careful not to break the branches, drop the fruit, or cause the tree to fall.

- Yeah, me too!

The two brothers carefully instructed each other: the younger brother would stay in the tall grass, and the older brother would stay in the treetop. If the quail stayed in the tall grass, the grass would prick its tailbone; if it stayed in the bamboo thicket, the bamboo leaves would prick its tailbone; if it stayed in the reed thicket, the reeds would prick its tailbone. Wherever the quail stayed, it would be pricked in the tailbone. In the end, they had no choice but to stay in the tall grass; there was nowhere else to go, because if they stayed in the grassy area, they would still be pricked in the tailbone. Meanwhile, its older brother, the woodpecker, remained in the treetop.

So, after resting for a day and sleeping for a night, the two brothers spent the afternoon working in the fields, planting vegetables, raising livestock, and building a shelter from the rain. The woodpecker felt sorry for the quail being alone. He gave the quail this advice:

Hey honey! Listen! In the morning, you feed the pigs, and in the afternoon, you put the chickens in the coop! I'll go catch worms and insects for you!

- Yes.

After giving instructions to the quail, its brother quickly flew off to find food, making a "knock knock..." sound. He went around tapping, which is why people call him a woodpecker. He went here, then there. In the evening, the woodpecker flew back, making the same "knock knock, knock knock..." sound. When he arrived home:

Hey! Have you fed the pigs yet? Have you put the chickens in the coop?

Yes, I've fed the pigs and put the chickens back in the coop.

- Yeah, that's good then. Here, take this worm/bug.

The quail ran to him to get it. The next morning, and every day was the same, the quail stayed home to feed the pigs and chickens, while the woodpecker continued to forage for food, and in the evening he would bring back worms and insects to feed the quail. It continued to instruct me:

Hey honey! Remember to feed the pigs, remember to cook rice and soup, okay?

Yes! Have a safe trip!

Every day, the woodpecker and the quail do the same thing. The woodpecker searches for insects, while the quail stays at home raising pigs and chickens and cooking.

As for the pangolin, seeing that the woodpecker was away, it hurried over to the quail. When the woodpecker was home, it wouldn't dare go near; it was afraid of the woodpecker. Seeing the pangolin come to its house, the quail asked:

What are you doing here?

Hey, don't raise your voice, I want to eat your worm. That woodpecker worm, share it with me.

Oh, I'm afraid my brother will scold me, I don't dare share it with you.

- Then shut your mouth, don't say a word.

So the quail agreed to share with the pangolin. The pangolin was the one who divided the food, it didn't let the quail share it, so they divided it like this:

- Hey, you get one, I get two; you get two, I get three; you get three, I get four; you get four, I get five...you get nine, I get ten....

They continued dividing the insects like that until they were all gone. After eating all the insects, the woodpecker scurried away. In the evening, the woodpecker returned, knocking, knocking, knocking...

Hey, honey! Hey, honey!

The quail hid silently in the rice-washing pipe. Afraid of being scolded by its brother, it remained completely still inside.

Oh dear, where has my brother gone? He's disappeared! He didn't even lock up the chickens, nor did he feed the pigs.

The woodpecker went to fetch water to wash rice for the pigs to eat, and suddenly saw the little quail hiding inside the water pipe.

Oh, why are you sitting here?

- I'm afraid of you, honey. I'm afraid you'll scold me.

Why are you scolding me?

- I fed the pangolin your worms, sir.

- Will he come again tomorrow?

Yes, it said it would come again.

- Yeah, if that's the case, then tomorrow I'll invite him to the toy house; kids used to go there to play.

The quail felt relieved and at ease because its brother didn't scold it. The next day, after the woodpecker went out to forage, the pangolin came again, grunting and panting, to the quail's house.

Go away! Go away!

- What do you want?

- I've come again to eat your insects.

- Yeah, come and eat, my brother's treating, he won't scold you.

Yes, that's good then.

Then, the one who divided the portions was again the pangolin, and the quail, ever submissive, let it take its share.

- Hey, you get one, I get two; you get two, I get three; you get three, I get four; you get four, I get five...you get nine, I get ten....

While eating worms, the quail said:

My brother said this: after we eat the insects tomorrow, we'll go to the toy house.

- Oh, really?

Yes, he said he would come.

The pangolin was overjoyed. It turned out that the quail had been plotting against it. The woodpecker had built a toy house and set a trap to lure the pangolin inside. The next day, the pangolin arrived very early and heard that it could go to the toy house. After receiving its share of the worms, it ate them immediately, no longer afraid of the woodpecker scolding it. The pangolin ate a lot, devouring its food greedily.

- So, have you told the pangolin to go to the toy house yet?

Yes, I already told you, sir.

After eating the worms, the two children went to the toy house. Woodpeckers flew overhead, quail hopped around, and pangolins crawled slowly on the ground. The pangolin said:

Go ahead, you go first, get lost!

- YES.

The quail, small in size, hopped around without touching the trap and escaped. After the quail went in, the pangolin, larger in size, suddenly "bang!" it fell into the trap.

- Lift it up, little one! Lift it up, little one!

"Hey! Hey! Where are you? Did the pangolin die?" the woodpecker asked.

Not only did the quail not lift it up, but it also placed a pestle on top of it. The quail's mouth said, "Okay, I'll lift it up," but its feet kept kicking and groaning.

- Lift it up, little one! Lift it up, little one!

The pangolin continued to plead with the quail for help. Instead of lifting the trap to save it, the quail piled mortars and pestles on top, stomped on them, and jumped on them, shaking them to make them heavier, until the pangolin died on the spot. A little later, the woodpecker appeared: "Knock, knock, knock, knock..."

- Hey, hey, where are you? Did the pangolin die?

- Yes, he's dead, sir.

Come on, let's go roast it and eat it!

The two brothers lit a fire, and once it was burning, they roasted the pangolin. Because the pangolin was so big, roasting it was very difficult and tiring. The pangolin meat had a slightly unpleasant taste, probably due to its spirit. After butchering it, the woodpecker asked the quail:

- What portion would you like to eat?

"Are you going to eat the head?" - The quail shook its head.

"Eat the tail?" - The quail shook its head.

"Eat the tail end?" - The quail shook its head.

"Are you going to eat the kidneys?" - The quail shook its head.

The quail didn't want to eat any of it. Seeing that the quail wasn't eating, the woodpecker instructed:

- If that's the case, then never mind. If you want to eat its liver, grill it over charcoal! Don't grill it in the dust and ash; it will explode and burn down our house.

After its brother left, the quail was home alone. It took the liver to roast, brushed away the ashes, and then roasted it. "Boom!" a loud explosion, the fire burned down the house, leaving nothing to eat, no mat to sleep on, no blanket to cover itself with. The fire consumed everything. The quail and the woodpecker had no home to live in, no place to eat. So the younger one stayed in the tall grass, and the older one stayed in the treetop. They said goodbye to each other again:

Be careful, my dear! You're in the tall grass, watch out for the buffaloes and cows trampling on you. You're out foraging for food, so be careful!

- Yes, you too! You're in the middle of the tree, and I'm afraid the tree might break, the fruit might fall, or the tree might collapse. Please be careful!

- Yes, me too!

Since then, she has been in the tall grass, he in the tree trunk, and the quail and woodpecker have been kept far apart.

The story implies that in life, people must know how to guide and protect each other, avoiding laziness and relying solely on others for support. The story also reminds us to listen to the advice and teachings of elders, avoiding wrongdoings in order to achieve good things in life...

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